Notes: Bray ready for bullpen session

Reliever could begin Minors rehab assignment soon

By Patrick Allegri / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Reds reliever Bill Bray, who went on the disabled list before the start of the season with a broken bone in his left index finger and struggled with tendinitis when he first began throwing again, expects to work out in the bullpen on Sunday.

If all goes well in the workout, Bray hopes to begin making rehab appearances with Class A Dayton in the coming days.

"[My rehab] has been going pretty well," Bray said on Saturday. "I feel good now, finally. My shoulder feels great, I feel good when I go out and play catch. [Sunday] will be a good sign of how the next week or so will go."

Bray was unsure when exactly he might first appear with Dayton.

"I haven't been told when I'd go," he said. "I just assume that sometime in the next week I'll start a rehab assignment in Dayton, but that hasn't been discussed."

Bray made two appearances for Class A Sarasota last week, giving up only one walk and no hits in two innings.

"Last week with Sarasota, I felt great," Bray said. "I just got a little sore the next day."

Having missed more than two-and-a-half months of play, Bray said he is more than ready, mentally, to get back to playing regularly.

"I'm extremely anxious," he said. "It's been a couple months now, with the broken finger and then tendinitis when I started to get back into it, so I'm really ready to get back and pitch."

Griffey helps out Hamilton: Rookie center fielder Josh Hamilton has already made his fair share of miraculous throws from the outfield this season. On Saturday, Hamilton said that on some plays, he gets a little help.

Sometimes, when a ball is hit towards Hamilton, he even hears a voice telling him how to play the ball.

"When the ball is hit, a lot of balls, my first break will be back, and [Griffey] will be screaming, 'In!' Or, if I move in, he'll be screaming, 'Back!' Hamilton said. "He just, he's there. I hear that voice."

Hamilton says he trusts Griffey's immediate reads on fly balls because the 10-time Gold Glove winner has proven himself one of the best at judging where a fly ball will end up.

"I don't know all the players and how they hit the ball, but he knows what's going on," Hamilton said. "The first step is critical, and he's there to help out.

"He always seems to float across the field."

While Griffey has been able to help Hamilton adjust to Major League fly balls, there is one area of covering center field at Great American Ball Park that Hamilton must face on his own.

"The days are getting longer," Hamilton said. "Until about the third inning, especially in left-center field, the sun is right in your eyes. [Griffey] can't really help me with that."

Possible day off for Gonzalez: Shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who has been playing with a tender right hamstring, may get a day off in the coming days, said manager Jerry Narron on Saturday.

"Alex is playing at less than 100 percent," Narron said. "He has a tender hamstring, but he's continued to play through it. He could probably use two or three days off."

Another Reds baby: Pitcher Kirk Saarloos' wife, Kristen, gave birth to son Brady Troy on Thursday. Saarloos was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on May 28.

Up next: The Reds and Rangers will close out their weekend series at 12:35 p.m. ET on Sunday at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati right-hander Bronson Arroyo (2-7, 4.98 ERA) will face Texas right-hander Kevin Millwood (2-6, 7.82 ERA).

Patrick Allegri is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.